Jnana Karma Sanyasa Yoga

by Jayaram V

This essay is about the importance of Jnana Karma
Sanyasa Yoga or the Yoga of enlightened action with the attitude
of renunciation.

Jnana Karma Sanyasa Yoga is explained in the fourth chapter of
the Bhagavadgita as one of the effective paths that lead to quick
liberation. As the name implies, in jnana karma sanyasa yoga you
combine the best aspects of jnana (knowledge), Karma (actions) and
Sanyasa (renunciation) to resolve the problem of bondage arising
from actions (karma bandha) and attain union with God. Jnana Karma
Sanyasa Yoga refers to the enlightened state (yoga) of a yogi in
which he combines the best principles of these three approaches
to achieve liberation.

In this holistic approach karma is central. You must know how
to perform actions without being bound by them and avoid the consequences
which arise from them. Hence, Jnana Karma Sanyasa Yoga is essentially
the practice of karma yoga with right awareness, right understanding,
right discernment and right attitude. In this yoga, your actions
(Karma) are neutralized from one side by knowledge and from the
other by renunciation, so that they no more bind you, nor produce
any consequences for you.

Jnana Karma Sanyasa Yoga is the best solution for those who lead
worldly lives. It is the ideal solution for the householders to
perform their worldly duties and still escape from the cycle of
births and deaths. Certainly, it is superior to the path of knowledge
(jnana yoga) or the path of actions (karma yoga) or the path of
renunciation (sanyasa yoga) when they are practiced in isolation
since it harmoniously incorporates all the three into an integrated
yoga that is bound to be triple effective.

God as the role model

From the words of Krishna we know that since it is a superior
yoga, even God practises it in performing his duties as the creator,
upholder and destroyer of the world. For the same reason, he also
imparts the knowledge of it to humans. In the beginning of creation
he taught this imperishable yoga to Vaivasvat, one of the first
born sons of Brahma, who taught it to Manu, the progenitor of humans,
and Manu in turn taught it to King Iksvaku, who was the ancestor
of Lord Rama.

He also states that the knowledge which he taught was lost in
time, as it happens with much of the revelatory knowledge since
the force of Dharma is cyclical and tends to weaken and decline
from one epoch to another. Hence, he appeared upon earth from time
to time to teach the knowledge and restore Dharma. We know from
the Bhagavadgita that God is the upholder of Dharma. Even though
he is without desires, he performs his duties for the continuation
of the worlds and beings.

Whenever Dharma is on decline and evil is in ascendance, he incarnates
upon earth for the protection of the good, the destruction of the
wicked and reestablishing Dharma. Therefore, the best way to live
upon earth is to follow the example of God and be like him in every
possible way. For that we must have right knowledge to perform actions
with right attitude, so that like God we remain free from the consequences
of our actions. Let us examine the importance of each of these in
the practice of Jnana Karma Sanyasa Yoga.

Jnana, Knowledge

Knowledge is important. If you perform actions with right knowledge,
your actions will not produce karma, nor will they bind you. You
cannot live without performing actions. However, if you perform
actions without knowing how to resolve karma, you will remain forever
bound to the cycle of births and deaths until the end of times.
Hence, Krishna says that you must know the right way to perform
actions in the sacrifice of knowledge (jnana yajna), which is better
than material sacrifices (dravya yajnas).

Once you have the right knowledge to practise karma yoga, you
will not fall into delusion and you will not become bound. That
knowledge should be acquired from the enlightened ones, the seers
of truth, by falling at their feet, asking questions and doing service.
Faith is equally important to learn the right knowledge and to practise
karma yoga correctly. The Bhagavadgita states that a person who
does not have faith perishes as he engages in desire-ridden actions
and fails to stabilize his mind in the contemplation of God.

How can you cultivate faith? Krishna says the best way to strengthen
faith and dispel doubts is by acquiring right knowledge. The method
to acquire knowledge from seers is already explained. Krishna suggests
that knowledge is also acquired through faith and austerities. A
person who has faith and control over his body and senses, gains
right knowledge and through that attains supreme peace even while
engaged in actions. They do not bind him since he renounces desires,
and his doubts are dispelled by knowledge.

Karma, Actions

Resolving the problem of karma is the chief purpose of Jnana
Karma Sanyasa Yoga. It has to be done by following the example of
God who performs numerous duties and engages in several actions
but who is never bound by them. According to the Bhagavadgita, the
best way to perform actions is to practise the sacrifice of knowledge
(jnana tapas), or using knowledge as an offering in righteous actions.

No one can remain without performing actions. Our lives depend
upon them. In the mortal worlds only actions ensure quick success.
Even worshipping gods and making offerings to them through sacrifices
are actions only. Krishna says that people approach God in many
ways, and he rewards them according to the paths and the methods
they choose. However, in performing such actions they should know
how to remain unaffected by them or their consequences.

How do we know whether our actions lead to bondage or to liberation?
The Bhagavadgita suggests that there is no better example of knowing
how to perform actions than God himself, who is the source of all
actions. Although he performs many duties for the order and regularity
of the worlds, he remains the inexhaustible non-doer (akartaram
avyayam). Actions do not taint him, because he does not desire the
fruit of his actions. He remains indifferent and detached from all
that, which arise from him as a projection, modification, manifestation
or movement. Those who know it and follow the principle of detachment
and indifference are not bound by their actions.

The scripture also states that the mysterious path of karma yoga
is better understood by knowing what action is, what wrong action
is and what inaction is. He who knows action in inaction and inaction
in action is a true karma yogi and wise among people. If actions
are free from desires and if one does not desire the fruit of such
actions, one remains inactive even when he is engaged in actions.

This is the secret of karma yoga. A person whose actions are
burnt by such austere knowledge is the true scholar (panditah).
By giving up attachment to the fruit of his actions, seeking nothing
and depending upon nothing, he remains disengaged from actions even
though he performs actions. By following the footstep of God in
his life and in perform his duties, he quickly attains liberation.

Sanyasa, Renunciation

Renunciation is the basis of karma yoga. The knowledge of renunciation
is the foundation of righteous actions. True renunciation according
to the Bhagavadgita means the renunciation of desire and attachments.
A true karma yogi is also a renunciant (Sanyasi) who performs his
actions by renouncing desires.

Lord Krishna states that without desire or expectation, with
his mind firmly under his control, giving up all his possessions,
performing only the body related functions, the karma yogi incurs
no sin even when he performs actions. As the true renunciant who
is devoted to God and follows his example in shaping his life and
destiny, he remains contended with whatever comes to him by chance,
without striving and hankering after things. He transcends the pairs
of opposites (dvanda), overcomes envy and remains equal to both
success and failure, so that actions do not bind him.

Conclusion

Hence, for liberation a devotee’s mind should be established
in the knowledge of God, in duty and in renunciation. He should
know how to perform his duties with right knowledge and right attitude,
giving up desires and attachments and seeking nothing in return.
When he uses right knowledge to perform righteous actions with the
spirit of true renunciation and lives his life like God upon earth,
his actions become completely dissolved.

This in essence is Jnana Karma Sanyasa Yoga. Karma arises when
we perform actions with desires for selfish ends. When we know,
just as the wise ones, that all actions arise from God and subside
in him like the waves on the surface of the ocean, we renounce both
ownership and doership and cross that ocean in the raft of faith
with our doubts dispelled.

In the sacrifice of life, God is the act or offering (arpanam)
and the oblation (havih). It is he who pours the burnt offering
into the fire of sacrifice. It is he who enjoys the fruit of the
sacrifice. Therefore, as the Bhagavadgita recommends, one should
perform actions with the mind fully absorbed in God. People perform
various kinds of actions in their lives according to their gunas.
They should know how to escape from their consequences. All actions
and sacrifices arise from God only. Hence, they should be rightfully
offered to him.

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